DRW50

My cover for this has labels all over it, so here is an unvarnished cover: http://www.soapoperaworld.com/soap-opera-digest-one-life-live-michael-weiss.html

You're right, they do. Seeing Marian again reminds me that if there is one thing I want from AMC and can get it is Marian being out of that #$*&#%*&$%(*$&%% nuthouse.

You're too hard on yourself AMS - those are great. I never even know how to do an avatar.

I'm being sarcastic, yes. I just feel like this is coming and I'm tempted to wave the white flag. I don't want them to reunite either, I feel like this is a dead end for both characters, especially Max. If they do then I would like very specific conditions. #1 no cheating #2 no cuckolding #3 no throwing Max's past in his face #4 no breakups unless one of them is leaving the show for good. I did think the scenes were superbly written, paced, and acted, and they had fantastic chemistry. It was all very lushly done and also something I really haven't seen on Eastenders very often. I guess it's because they had planned this for a while whereas the baby swap reveal was rushed, but the stuff with Max and Tanya seemed much better put together (aside from him being fine and dandy after a car crash) Tanya is very impulsive and self-involved and is always trying to run from her past. This week seemed to be about Tanya realizing the futility of leaving her past behind. On that level, it worked well. But there is so much baggage here and I think it could very easily be a disaster if it turns into yet another cheating story where they just want what they can't have.

cheap21 all those banners are so great - I especially love the before/after shots of Natalie/Kendall/Erica/Babe. Stunning work. All the Fusion banners make me nostalgic (and also reminds me of how many times that changed hands). You had more faith in some of those ladies than AMC did, sadly.

Those are beautiful screencaps AMS. i especially love Erica reaching out for a miracle. How timely.

The ATWT/GL comparison is a good one, as they both seemed to have the same idea - keep the middle-aged son (Bob, Ed) and phase out everyone else (I guess Don Hastings was too identified with Bob and hadn't aged the way Mart Hulswit had so they didn't recast Bob)...Don Hughes and Mike Bauer (although Mike seemed more prominent then Don) went, etc. I guess it's more jarring to me with the Bauers because several of them were suddenly, violently killed, with no window for return. Hope and Mike also got very sudden exits. Considering how P&G felt about Nancy Hughes and Jo Barron Tate etc. on SFT, I wonder if they would have tried to phase out Bert, if Charita hadn't had health problems.

This clip has, at about 45 minutes in, one of the most random and hilarious Liz Hubbard ad-libs. Lucinda grabs Kirk's crutches and starts swinging on them.

saynotoursoap made this video a few years ago. I don't know how I missed it. It's just beautifully put together, very moving. I wish I could see those last opening credits - they look incredible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQxIP8MRAyA&feature=related

Jessie Wallace interview scans. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=49461478&postcount=485

Declan always had a shark sense but he was more vulnerable and complex when Natasha was around. He was not this one-note monster until his awful family. Is Ella any less boring? The rare times I watch now I just skip that family. It's nonsensical to me they never give Nikhil anything to do. He's a talented actor, a stunning man, and a popular character. I don't understand the priorities with the show now, especially when they keep casting people like the weird farmhand.

Are you sad about Lyn leaving? What was Rebecca's exit?

I think Alicia and Amy are just so unpleasant (Amy is a ridiculous character to me, and the actress looks too old), whereas Eve had several sides. What do you think of Kelly's return?I don't think it works without Viv. I wish the show had gone further with John/Eve. They had fantastic chemistry and it was better than the generally miserable stories he's had since. He's a hot piece of ass and the show never does anything with this.

Thanks for responding. I always look forward to your comments. What do you think of the Maria story? I imagine at some point he will rape Maria, or Carla, or try to, and Maria will be proven right, and then Maria will also be victimized by her boyfriend who is boring and seems to have crawled out of a Deliverance remake. But this has been so poorly paced and told and makes Carla look like a total fool, not to mention a hypocrite and a schizo. I don't understand why the show seems so poorly paced. Is this because Collinson has no soap background? I still hear people say Eastenders is the miserable soap and Corrie is the comedy soap but it seems like comedy on Corrie now is only to ridicule - and that's not funny when it's done 5 times a week, with no variation. I've never seen Corrie like this before. Even when the show was trying to be "relevant" and had so many unhappy stories, there was still a gentle humor in some places. Now it seems to be all bile. Even Mary is nasty now.

I thought Suzanne did a good job of playing the bitchy and quasi-sympathetic sides of Eve. She had some potential. It seems like besides the Chas/Carl stuff they had no plans for her. I would have kept her around to continue to be a good girl/bad girl, as the show has few of those or can't write for them.

What was Libby's current story? Do you think they should temp recast in a while or should they bring back another popular name from the past?

At this point I think it's the only honest story for Jessica. She isn't going to get better. She lapses for any and every reason. She does nothing but cause damage to everyone around her. You should look for the post in the behind the scenes thread I started...there's an article from 1972 or so with Erika in hot pants

I don't know either, but I do wish they'd bring Jenny back. Have Viki, Bo, and a few others save her, in one last homage to the 80s.

Yes, Manya forever. If they actually stayed together and if they ran the club (change the name again - it has to change every few years), I might care. It's just the endless games and Tanya's superior attitude I think need to change.

I just wonder if Frons will block it, since he may want his "vision" to the end. If it were me, I would have Jessica commit suicide, and Viki cope with that over the show's final months, and then at the end, have a new mother and daughter move to town, played by Jessica Tuck and Erin Torpey. I'd love to see Carla and Ed again. I also want to see Rachel, and since it's the end, I want it to be Ellen Bethea, please, although I liked Daphnee a lot.